Is replying to online reviews always good? New research shows downside of over-responding

A new study to be published in the INFORMS journal Marketing Science found that when managers respond to online reviews it's possible that those responses could actually stimulate additional reviewing activity and an increased number of negative reviews.

The study to be published in the October edition of the INFORMS journal Marketing Science is titled "Channels of Impact: User Reviews When Quality is Dynamic and Managers Respond," and is authored by Judith Chevalier of the Yale School of Management and NBER; Yaniv Dover of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem; and Dina Mayzlin of the Marshal School of Business at the University of Southern California.

Research - Reviews - Goods - Services - Hotel

Their research focused on online reviews of "dynamic-quality" goods and services, such as hotel and travel/hospitality services, as compared to "static-quality" goods and services, where the consumer experience is not as influenced by direct managerial involvement. The purpose of the research was to learn about the role and effectiveness of managers responding to online reviews and the motivations of consumers who engage in online reviewing.

The researchers studied online reviews of hotels and analyzed reviews and data from portals that included TripAdvisor, Expedia and Hotels.com. They focused on the drivers for word-of-mouth that are influenced by the presence of a managerial response, or lack of response, to online reviews.

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In the end, the authors found that managerial responses are likely to stimulate reviewing activity.